'99 & up 7.3L Power Stroke Engine and DrivetrainDiscussion of the 99 & up 7.3L Power Stroke diesel engine and drivetrain in the 1999-Up Super Duty trucks and Excursions. No gas engine discussion allowed except on transmissions and drivetrain that pertain to all models. Please confine discussion of topics in this forum to those items that are specific to the 7.3L Power Stroke engine.

I have had mine installed for nearly 2 years. It is working flawlessly from what I can tell. I use my truck to tow a 29' travel trailer around in the summer. The OEM started slipping at around 65k, (mostly from towing in a high performance mode from previous owner). I have a DP Tuner with the tow modes and 80 HP econo now.

I did upgrade the OEM cooler with a 6.0 cooler to help keep temps down, which I highly recommend for any transmission build! I have towed in 100+ degree temps through the hills and the 6.0 cooler keeps the temps under the 225 degree range towing.

For me the reason to go with the HD4R100 over a BTS or JW was wait time. I didn't have a couple weeks to wait for one to be built and shipped to me. Ford got me one in a day or two. JW actually is the person who turned me on to the HD4R100 due to my time crunch.

With the tunes I run the transmission shifts firm and solid. The tow modes allow a slightly softer shift than the econo tune, but still engages nice. I have towed it up some pretty steep hills and not at the best speeds ( under 40 mph ) I had no problems and the slip was limited to the TC doing it's job. Higher speed climbs up grades are fine too. I honestly think the DP tuner helps the transmission deal with towing or everyday driving. The factory programming is designed for the everyday driver and I think it allows too much slip for towing or higher HP set-ups.

If you are not near BTS or JW look into a HD4R100, just be careful since the two dealerships I called told me all the 4R100's were HD. I had them both look into it and call me back, when they told me they had not ever heard of this transmission until now. Plan on spending close to 4k for one installed! They do come with a 3 year 100k warranty too.

Plan on spending close to 4k for one installed! They do come with a 3 year 100k warranty too.

For a little more, I can get a BTS that I know I can break and will be fixed for nothing even AFTER 5 years. Also note, you have no warranty if you run into a tech I know. He seems to make it his personal mission in life to report people like us who have mods so they have a hard time with warranty claims. You bring your truck in for warranty when you trans fails and he will tattle on you to Ford.

Yes, a BTS is a better route to go if you have about a grand more and you have the time to order one. If I were planning on swapping one out where I could order one ahead of time a BTS is what I would do too.

I figure if I ever have to take mine in to Ford, I will pull the my chip out and re-install the saved plastic plug. Kind of a hassle, but it can be done in 20-30 minutes so not a real issue. I will run out of time before miles, so that is why a BTS would be a better deal too.

Yes, a BTS is a better route to go if you have about a grand more and you have the time to order one. If I were planning on swapping one out where I could order one ahead of time a BTS is what I would do too.

I figure if I ever have to take mine in to Ford, I will pull the my chip out and re-install the saved plastic plug. Kind of a hassle, but it can be done in 20-30 minutes so not a real issue. I will run out of time before miles, so that is why a BTS would be a better deal too.

Once you have cleaned the contacts, it is sign that you have inserted something in the J3 port and that is going to prove you did modify it. How will you fix the exhaust and the HPX line and the Big Head actuator?

If a dealer is willing to pull the PCM and take it apart to see the contacts, I would question them on why they were wasting time on it. The exhaust, HPX and Big Head should not affect the trans warranty. I suppose they could snivel and whine about it, but they are not significant mods. most probably wouldn't even notice the HPX! The dealer I go to has never questioned any of the mods. I think they realize people will not come to them if they nit pick.

Once you have cleaned the contacts, it is sign that you have inserted something in the J3 port and that is going to prove you did modify it. How will you fix the exhaust and the HPX line and the Big Head actuator?

You don't have to have a dealer install this to get the 3 year / 100,000 warranty, any shop can order one from a Ford Dealer, install it and give you Fords 3 year / 100,000 on the trans.
Am I wrong?

If a dealer is willing to pull the PCM and take it apart to see the contacts, I would question them on why they were wasting time on it. The exhaust, HPX and Big Head should not affect the trans warranty. I suppose they could snivel and whine about it, but they are not significant mods. most probably wouldn't even notice the HPX! The dealer I go to has never questioned any of the mods. I think they realize people will not come to them if they nit pick.

I am not saying it is right or wrong but when this truck came in for warranty work, that tech was proudly telling us how he called into Ford to inform them that the truck was modified. Bigger exhaust and that it was chipped. All he did was look at the exhaust and deduced that there were mods. Then he went hunting. Doesn't take much to look at the J3 port to see that it was cleaned. Also he quizzed the PCM as to how many times the program was changed, just to be extra certain. His thesis was that because you put those items in, you are modifying the power levels. After all, what are you installing them for, if not to increase power? He was so happy when the 6.4 came out with the warning stickers. "This is the day we have been waiting for", he said. Is he alone? I don't think so. I have been to other shops where there was some nutball that was doing it. Why? I don't understand. It's not like Ford put a bounty on it. If he got a commission for turning someone in, I could understand his zeal.

You don't have to have a dealer install this to get the 3 year / 100,000 warranty, any shop can order one from a Ford Dealer, install it and give you Fords 3 year / 100,000 on the trans.
Am I wrong?

Wayne B

Most of the Ford stuff comes with the disclaimer that if you mod it, all bets are off. I don't think they are going to do a 100% check on every warranty claim but I would think that by right, they could.

I know what you're thinking. "Will Ford check all the warranty work or just some? Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement they kind of lost track themselves. But being as this is a 4R100 transmission, perhaps the most expensive transmission in the world, and would blow your wallet clean open, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

Yes, there will always be "those techs" and dealers out there that will not do warranty work because of silly reasons like 4" exhaust and air intake.

Fact is Ford themselves rarely will come out and actually check the car for service part warranty (for most larger dealers, such as us, anyways. However, I cannot speak for every dealer) This is usually only in cases with Ford extended warrany, along with some isolated "bad" cases. The willing to work on the vehicle that has mods (in this case) has more to do with the dealer themsevles, not an inspector from Ford.

If you are worried, simply bring it back to the independednt shop that installed it. . When a warranty issue comes up, the shop makes a call to a 1-800 #, gets approval, and usually has no problem getting authorization to replace the tranny, and gets paid labor to do.
While I may not able to speak for every dealer, I can say we rarely have an issue with warranty being denied for an independent shop.

Yes, Ford has their disclaimers out there; I'm not going to deny that. Just putting out there my experiences from selling powertrain for the last 8 years or so.

I am not saying it is right or wrong but when this truck came in for warranty work, that tech was proudly telling us how he called into Ford to inform them that the truck was modified. Bigger exhaust and that it was chipped. All he did was look at the exhaust and deduced that there were mods. Then he went hunting. Doesn't take much to look at the J3 port to see that it was cleaned. Also he quizzed the PCM as to how many times the program was changed, just to be extra certain. His thesis was that because you put those items in, you are modifying the power levels. After all, what are you installing them for, if not to increase power? He was so happy when the 6.4 came out with the warning stickers. "This is the day we have been waiting for", he said. Is he alone? I don't think so. I have been to other shops where there was some nutball that was doing it. Why? I don't understand. It's not like Ford put a bounty on it. If he got a commission for turning someone in, I could understand his zeal.

Its unfortunate that you ran into a situation like that. I'd have the same position about Ford warranty if I were in your shoes as well.

That seems to be more just like a tech that either got burned before, was at a dealership that got burned before, or just had a chip on his shoulder.

These days, most guys just want the work. If you come rolling in the dealership with a Nitrous bottle in the back, thats one thing. But dening your warranty because of your chrome exhaust tip is another.

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